Which ?

I currently have a boardman comp on the halfords cycle to work scheme, I am now able to renew with a new bike. I initially had the bike purley for commuting but the interest was as such i have joined a cycling club.

Im looking for a new bike but limited to £1000 and halfords. im stuck between the Carrera virago carbon and the boardman team bike but with an alloy frame. The specs are very similar the boardman is lighter despite being an alloy frame and has better rims.

My wife had a quick test ride of a Boardman Hybrid last week . I think it was only around their shop floor so not a proper test ride but you might be able to get some feel for a bike with that. If I was you I would say something like "I would take my business else where if they didn't help me choose"

Halfords partner with a lot of independant shops UK wide, so you should be able to widen choice of brands a fair bit.

You just get Halfords to do the quote and let their cycle to work department know that it is a special order on their system, so that when you take the voucher to a participating store, that they can redeem it

That's true, Mr Fox,
But an even better idea would be to get your employer to sign up with another tax free bike scheme like Cyclescheme, either as well as or instead of Halfords, and then you'll have a much less restricted choice of bike shops and bikes to choose from and can go to a proper helpful place and avoid a silly shop that won't even let you try a couple of £1k bikes out before deciding which you prefer...